


The Limbo Between Past and Future

by Sodey



Series: Traumatic Meditations [1]
Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Biopunk, Body Horror, Depression, Gen, Monsters, Night Terrors, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 07:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28347837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sodey/pseuds/Sodey
Summary: An event in the recent past has caused Wolf O'Donnell to question if there's a better way of living. It also leaves him to question whether it would be best to leave everything behind.It just so happens that some things refuse to be left behind.
Series: Traumatic Meditations [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191656
Comments: 22
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Corneria City. It had been a long time since Wolf had visited Corneria City. It had been a long time since he visited Corneria. It had barely changed since he last saw it and he hadn't expected it to change. But here he was, he might as well enjoy himself. So, he did what he always did: wander. Leaving his bike in one of the many paid parking lots downtown, he took a gander at what was available. Clothes shops, bookstores, cafes... no, not what he was looking for. A bar, he was looking for a bar. Just a place to drink and contemplate for a while.

"Hey!"

Wolf looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, you! Gimme your fucking wallet!" The owner of the voice happened to be some scraggly looking leopard wearing a trench coat, wielding what looked to be a utility knife. 

Wolf turned around fully and cocked his head. He didn't understand. Why target him? The cat could've literally went after anyone else and probably would've been more successful in his pathetic ventures.

"Are you stupid? Do you not see this kni..." Stopping mid-sentence as the intimidating figure of Wolf approached him. The cat's arm started to shake. "Stay away! I'm warning you!" He said through clenched teeth. When Wolf got close enough, the cat did a straight stab at his chest. Wolf dodged and grabbed his wrist with a pincer-like grip, forcing the hand to open up from sheer pain. Wolf then casually picked the knife up and easily snapped it in half. He snorted. "Get yourself a better knife." He said, a bit muffled by his purple helmet. The cat ran.

Wolf wandered around for a little while longer before walking into some random bar. He took a quick look around before sitting down in the darkest corner of the establishment and taking his helmet off. A shock of white hair, in the form of a mohawk, exploded out of his helmet the moment he took it off. His chin fur flowed from his face like flames licking at a piece of wood. His ears had several nicks. Both eyes side-eyed the bartender coming towards him, purple and blue. One eye was normal, the other, an ocular implant. 

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Without looking up, Wolf said "Yeah, can I get a glass of whiskey?"

"What kind?"

"Doesn't matter."

"But sir-"

"Just get me something!" Wolf shouted. It came out louder than he meant it to. He looked back down as he heard the receding footsteps of the bartender, mentally chastising himself for losing control again. The guy meant him no harm yet he couldn't help but let his frustrations overwhelm him. He huffed.

Putting his bag down next to himself, he zipped open his high-collar, black leather jacket to let himself cool off a bit revealing a black tank-top underneath. Looking to distract himself, he fished his phone out of his tan cargo pants. He looked at how many calls were missed: 2 from Leon, 3 from Panther; they were probably just wondering how he was; and 1 from... Fox? Fox McCloud? He shook his head. "That can't be right. Must be a different Fox." He checked the messages. There were 2 new ones.

Panther Caroso: Hey, just wanted to hear how you're doing. Me and Leon are a bit worried since you haven't responded or called in a few days. Get back to me when you can, ok?

Wolf O'Donnell: Don't worry, I'm fine. Just needed a little peace and quiet.

He looked at the other message. He made an exasperated sigh. It was most definitely Fox McCloud. "How did he even get my number?" He whispered to himself. He took a look.

Fox McCloud: How's civilian life treating you?"

There was no reason to reply. There was no reason for Fox, of all people, to force himself into Wolf's life like this. He heard a glass land gently on the table before him. "Thanks." Wolf muttered, again, without looking up.

Wolf moved on to photos, photos he took on his travels. By no means was he professional, but he at least thought he had a good eye for finding beautiful scenery and a decent eye for composition. He wondered if it was possible to sell some of them, even if he didn't really need the money. He shrugged and took a sip of the amber liquid, letting the liquid imprint itself on his tongue before swallowing. Instantly, he felt a little more at home in this place and allowed himself to relax. 

But a phone can only distract for so long.

Sitting here allowed him to think which made him reflect, especially on _that _time. He didn't want to. But, no matter how far he tried to get away, his mind always pulled him back to that incident. The thing that left him comatose for weeks. The thing that convinced him to leave the mercenary life for good. The thing that disturbed him beyond measure.__

__He pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. Focusing on the familiar taste and smell, those memories eventually found themselves in the back of his mind, no longer the center of attention._ _

__"Hey! You're not supposed to smoke in here!" The bartender exclaimed. Wolf flipped him off, still wearing his knuckle dusters._ _

__"If you wanna smoke, go outside and do it."_ _

__Wolf frowned. "What are you going to do about it? Besides, it's not like there's anyone else here." His tail stood up._ _

__The bartender decided that it wasn't worth the risk. "Fine. But, the moment someone comes in here and you decide you wanna smoke, go do it outside." Wolf smirked and the bartender rolled his eyes._ _

__After a while, Wolf looked up. The cigarette stuck out from the side of his mouth. Any other time, a stucco ceiling would've annoyed the shit out of him, but right now he needed something to just get lost in. Distractions._ _

__Distractions._ _

__So distracted, that he didn't hear someone walk in or the bartender calling for him to put out his cigarette. But he did feel the hand on his shoulder; it startled him._ _

__Then he settled on the face and a long, toothy grin appeared on his own. "Well, long time no see, Fox McCloud."_ _


	2. Chapter 2

Fox sat down across from him." Yeah, it's been a while. Say, is that a new implant?"

"Yes."

"I guess the old one stopped working?"

"Yes." He said, clearly remembering that he pulled it out on his own. The last thing he wanted was to go back to Venom and get it uninstalled by those monkey bastards. It should've been the most painful thing he'd ever done; he had barely felt a thing.

"Anyway," Fox said, bringing Wolf back to the present, "what do you do nowadays?"

"Nosey pup." Wolf thought to himself. "Mostly travel."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Not out there, taking up more dirty work? Don't you miss it?" Fox joked.

"No." Wolf replied, catching himself snarling.

"Oh."

"...What do you want from me McCloud?" Wolf asked through clenched teeth.

"I just wanted to check in on how my favorite rival was doing, that's all."

"I travel and I mind my own business. You should do the same." He knocked back the whiskey in one gulp and slammed the glass back down which gave Fox a bit of a jolt to Wolf's satisfaction.

Bookending the short conversation with a show of teeth, he said "We're done here." He tossed 10 credits onto the counter. "Keep the change." He shouted before leaving.

The bartender raised an eyebrow to Fox. "You know him?"

"Yeah, we used to fly together back in the day." Technically the truth.

"Oh, really? He was part of Star Fox?"

Fox just smiled. "You could say that."

"Huh. So do you want anything Fox?"

"Nah, I've gotta go.

"Uh, well, okay. See you later." 

Fox waved as he ran out.

\--

"I should never have come back here." Wolf muttered to himself. "Smile enough and it'll become real. Yeah, real enough to become horseshit." He thought bitterly. He still had his helmet off. "Never should've come back..." Then he heard bootsteps running after him. He stopped, his ears folded back and his tail was stuck out straight. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around. Seeing Fox run up to him elicited a sharp intake of breath.

"Wolf! Wolf! Look, I wasn't joking... when I said that I wanted to see how you're doing."

"So much so you tracked me?"

"Look, we were just worried when you disappeared from th-"

Wolf snarled at him. "Don't. Even."

Fox confusedly looked at him. "What."

"You only know me as a pilot and some poor, helpless bastard unconscious in _that _fucking place." He pointed to a nearby hospital for emphasis, then grinned. "But you know what? You can pay your respects again 'cause you'll never be seeing me after this.__

____

____

"But-"

"I'm. Not. Your. Falco. Now fuck off." Wolf turned his back on a shocked Fox with an additional thought as he put his helmet back on. "That way, I won't have to hurt anyone else."

He made his way to his gravbike and went to leave the parking lot. "Your total comes to 4 credits."

"Alright, hold on." He pulled out a wallet. He panicked as he discovered that he had no physical Cornerian credits left. Venomian credits were not accepted. He growled in rage as he got off his bike and snapped the arm barrier in two. He didn't care if people saw, he just wanted to go.

He weaved through the streets, driving at breakneck speed, not caring where he was going. Block by block he rode, growling, frustrated at the day and what it had brought. His heart beat a mile a minute as he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. 

Distraction.

His eyes refocused from his inner thoughts to what lay before him, laser-focused In their determination to keep going. His growling soon twisted into a devilish smile as he focused on the now. Sirens sounded nearby as he white-knuckled his way into the suburbs. He felt the wind flow around him, felt the speed, felt the exhilaration of flying as he sped along. This machine was nothing like his Wolfen... nor would it be. There were no weapons attached, there was no roar of the afterburners, there was no cockpit. The only thing they had in common was that he was one with it. It was almost thera-

That train of thought was broken by a nudge from behind. Wolf looked back to see several cruisers behind him. "How dare they?" He thought as he strained his machine to go faster. It certainly wasn't state of the art technology. Calculating what would happen next based on his priorities, he gave an exasperated sigh as he pulled over. Police officers came out with weapons drawn.

"Get down on the ground." Wolf did as he was told. "Now put your hands on your head." Wolf did as he was told. They kneeled on his back while they handcuffed him, removing his helmet. "Wolf O'Donnell!"

"Yeah? And?"

"It's just, you're Wolf O'Donnell."

"Well, don't worry either way officers, I'll go quiet-" 

Then he felt a punch behind him and a kick to his midsection, neither of which hurt, but he did feel them. The rain of blows continued and as the officers realized he wasn't reacting, they moved lower. 

"I don't want to hurt people anymore."

"Heh, should've thought of that before speeding through the suburbs!" An officer sneered.

Wolf saw he had a point, got up, and moved toward one of the police vehicles. One of the officers pulled their weapon out and shot in Wolf's direction, hitting one of their own instead. "Fuck!" The officer who was shot exclaimed. "You idiot! What was that for!"

"I was aiming for Wolf! He's opening... the passenger door?" Everybody looked on dumbfounded as the former mercenary and space pirate, the nigh untouchable and almost unkillable Lord Wolf O'Donnell, climbed into the back of the cruiser without a second thought. "Huh."

He went to close the door and accidentally broke the handcuffs in the process. "Shit." 

\--

"Huh, so this is what a jail cell looks like?"

"Yeah." Replied the jailer.

"Looks like shit."

"You smell like shit."

"Thanks." Earning an eyeroll from the jailer.

"You'll be in here for a while. You'll be here until your first hearing or until someone pays bail. Though I'm not sure what kind of people would bail your scumbag ass out of jail."

"Scumbags, duh." Wolf replied.

He chuckled. "Yeah, definitely."

It had been only a couple of hours when the jailer reappeared with a frown. "You're free to go."

"What why?"

"Someone bailed you out."

"Who?"

"Come out and see for yourself." The jailer said, leading Wolf out back to the lobby seeing an all too familiar figure sitting in one of the waiting chairs. "Fox?" Wolf asked in disbelief.

Fox looked up at him with a serious look on his face. "I'm done paying my respects."


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf just stared.

"You wanna run? Run. Just know that we're all worried and we want you to be better."

"We?"

"Star Fox, Star Panther, maybe a few veterans here and there, that's about it. I guess that includes your parents and or siblings, if they're still around."

Wolf looked away. "Where's my bike?" Wolf asked the desk jockey.

"In the impound lot. You can take it and leave." The jockey replied. 

Without looking back, Wolf started to walk away. "Panther gave me your number."Fox called out. Wolf continued, not acknowledging the statement besides a slight bit of shaking. Inside, he resolved to strangle that son of a bitch the moment he got off this rock. But first, he needed to find a place to convert his Venomian credits to Cornerian and official Cornerian banks were not going to do that based on supposedly incompatible economic systems but Wolf knew better; he had tried doing this before.

One doesn't become a space pirate without establishing strong financial connections within both the Venomian and Cornerian underworlds. Even with his rather long leave of absence, there should've still been a couple of places that he was familiar with. Getting his bike, he made his way to one of the shadier parts of Corneria City. He made sure that anything that could track him was disabled before he went any further. He parked his bike where it would not look out of place before walking through a series of alleyways, eventually ending up standing in front of a rusty, iron door with an eye slot. He took a deep breath before knocking.

The slot slid back and a pair of hard eyes stared back at him. "Do you have an appointment?"

The lupine let a few chuckles out, doing his best to dam the flood of laughter that threatened to break through. "No, just tell Fye that Wolf O'Donnell has come by to do some business.

"Wolf O'Donnell?" The eyes looking back at him failed to recognize him.

"Yes."

"Never heard of ya."

"Small fry never do." Wolf's eyes stared with a burning intensity into the hired thug's, sparking a staredown. 

It only lasted for a moment, as a dent pushed toward the thug. Followed by another and another. This prompted a slender weasel to come out from the back. "What is all that racket? Can't you see it's breaking my concentration?" Wolf stopped banging on and denting the door.

"Someone named Wolf O'Donnell really wants to see you." The thug replied, slightly shaken.

"Wolf?... I haven't heard that name in years! Let him in! Let him in!"

"Are you sure boss?"

"You're right, just lemme get a closer look... "

"Hey Fye."

"Yeah, that's him. Let him in! Welcome, Wolf. It's been forever."

"Yeah, sometimes things just happen." The lupine replied as he stepped into the dimly lit gambling room which only had a couple of other guys in. He followed the weasel into the back, where his office was.

"How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been doing pretty well."

"Good, good. I hear you've left the mercenary business."

"Yeah, well, I figured it was time to retire before I got ahead of myself. Can't enjoy your wealth if you're not alive and all that."

"I hear that. So, what are you in for?"

"I need to convert some Venomian credits into Cornerian credits."

Fye looked pained. "Well, I'm afraid Venom is going through another hyperinflationary period."

Wolf blinked.

The weasel sighed. "The rate at this exact moment is 7,645 Venomian credits to 1 Cornerian credit."

So, I'm penniless right now."

"Afraid so."

"... Son of a fucking bitch!" Wolf yelled as he slammed his fist through Fye's desk.

"Wolf! Wolf! It's not gonna last forever! Do you have any place to stay right now?"

"...No." Wolf grumbled.

"Do you know anyone where you could stay at?"

"Besides you and Fox, not really."

"Fox huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I hear being a flight instructor at the Academy pays really well, far better than the little operation I got going here."

"No. I'm going."

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

"Not staying here? You're welcome to it."

"No. I'm going out into the wild until things get back to normal.

"Well, either way, you still need to pay for my desk and that door. Anyway, it's pretty tough out there Wolf."

"Yeah, and I lived on Venom for a while."

"Right."

"Thanks for the info, but I should get going."

"Okay then." They nodded to each other, Wolf taking his leave from the weasel's establishment.

Getting back on his bike, he stared ahead as the scenery changed from skyscrapers and neon to suburbs to the occasional house to nothing but trees. Taking a random exit, he rode until it was almost dark. On a dirt path, he veered off into the thick bush, eventually finding a clearing. He quickly set up camp. It was getting cold, but he thought he could tough it out. Who needed heat anyway?

Who wanted that suffocating and oppressive heat that he was all too familiar with? Made him sweat his fur, get it all stringy and musty. It was one of the many things he disliked while living on Venom.

Venom, he hadn't been there since the fall of Andross. Star Wolf took its leave once the civil war started and took up job after job after they set up shop in the Sargasso sector. "A job is a job." He laughed bitterly saying the quote.

He deserved it. He deserved to be dragged. Deserved suffering. The only thing worth- "No!" He yelled, interrupting that train of thought before taking off his jacket, revealing tree trunk like arms and his revealing black tank top. He started to furiously do sit-ups, crunches, push-ups, handstand push-ups, jumping jacks, etc. before cooling off with some stretching. He crawled into the canvas tent and thought no more that evening, his eyes closing from dopamine-fueled exhaustion. He huffed in contentment.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Borrows a scene or two from other fan fictions.
> 
> Wolf has a hard night.

It always started with the whistling. The wind whistling around the wreckage of his Wolfen as it plummeted from the sky. He fruitlessly pulled back on the centre stick as his other arm lay limp, shattered and mangled against his gut-splattered side. Every strained breath against the wind produced the feeling of a thousand needles piercing his chest. He was rapidly losing blood and oxygen as he struggled to stay awake; he could taste iron, feel the cotton in his throat. He let go of the stick since it wasn't budging and went for the eject button instead. He could hear none of the sounds associated with hydraulics. Again and again he pressed it, hoping for something, anything to happen; nothing. He desperately kept pressing buttons to try and get something to happen. His breathing soon became nothing more than a pained whistling that sang in harmony to the wind outside. As he saw the ground was getting closer, he closed his eyes, wishing only that Leon and Panther were still fighting the good fight. He braced for impact.

But the impact never came.

He opened his eyes back up, but still couldn't see anything. He felt incredibly light-headed, sat back on steel floor. It felt incredibly uncomfortable but try as he might, he could barely move. "Uh, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry." Someone whispered. "So sorry, it's better this way."

Wolf thought he recognized the voice. "Fox?" His own throat dry and scratchy.

"Yeah, Wolf. It's me." Then without warning, he felt gloved paws slip themselves around his neck, the thumbs pressing themselves square into his throat, choking off his air. 

"Fox! What are you-" Wolf tried to get out as he desperately struggled, limbs flailing and kicking, doing his best to pry the paws off his neck.

"Shhh! Shhh. It's okay. It'll all be over soon. You'll find your peace." His thumbs continued to dig in. Wolf could feel his eyes starting to roll into the back of his head as his limbs slowed down. He could feel himself leaving. He continued to grasp at Fox's paws but his strength was sapped to the point that his paws merely slid off Fox's. Soon, his body twitched as it reached brain death and even then, Fox held on until even that stopped.

Suddenly, Wolf could see again, and what he saw chilled him. He and Panther were aiming their blasters at each other as Wolf glimpsed out of the corner of his eye the body of Leon, slumped over on a cheap couch with half of his head missing. "Why?" Wolf's voice came out monotone and quiet.

Panther swallowed before speaking. "Do you know what he does when you're not around? What he did? The things I've seen because of that bastard haunts me even now."

Wolf's face was blank. "And what, pray tell, did he do?"

Panther's voice started shaking as he recalled some of Leon's actions. "He stole from Star Wolf for one. Both he and I review our financial records and you don't give them a second glance."

"Yeah," Wolf growled. "So what?"

Panther's evolved into raucous laughter. "Hahahahaha! 'So what' he says! Wolf, he's put Star Wolf's finances into his own pocket! And... And you think he's sadistic on the battlefield Wolf? You've seen him, you've seen how he likes to gut, dismember, and maim. Believe me, he's far worse in bed."

"WHAT?!"

"Not with me." Panther said with a grin, relishing in Wolf's reactions. "It's with those he kidnaps. It doesn't matter to him, flesh is still flesh after all. He just likes inflicting pain for hours, and, if you're out long enough, days on end. He made me watch every. Time." Panther seemed to stare off into the distance before snapping back to the present. "Don't you ever wonder why he goes to your room while you're never allowed in his? The smell" Panther inhales "Of sex and blood was palpable even after jettisoning the remains and putting the sheets through the wash half a dozen times."

"...Lies."

"He made you... eat some of those remains you know. Made him... all fuzzy in-"

"Shut up! Everything you say are all lies! Leon is a lot of things, but it simply wasn't in him to do such things when not fighting! I've known him for 10 years! 10 YEARS! And he would never do such things! Sullying his name like that after you killed him, you're a traitor!"

Panther smiled sadly back. "10 years at arm's distance. Putting blind trust into him. I knew him for 2, and he was comfortable enough to show me his true self. What does that say about you, Wolf?"

Their blasters went off at the same time. Wolf's blast went through Panther's throat while his went through Wolf's heart. Both collapsed.

Wolf awoke howling, tears staining his fur. His sweat-slicked body soaked the newly damaged tent he was in, damaged from several claw marks he made while asleep.

Now sat up, he put a paw to his forehead. "Fuck." He said to himself. "It's never gonna go away." Still, he tried to wish them away. He sighed. "What am I even doing?" 

"I don't know. What are you doing?"

"What?! Who's there?!" Wolf said as he stood up, completely tearing through the tent in the process. In the early morning light, he could see a silhouette sat next to his bike. It looked strangely familiar.

"Nice bike. Where did you get it?" It sounded familiar too, but he just couldn't place the voice. "Who are you?"

"What, don't you remember me Wolf? You made quite the racket out here you know; couldn't really sleep. So, I came out to see what was causing all that noise and I see you, thrashing about in that little tent of yours. Light me up." Wolf took out his phone but hesitated. "C'mon, don't be shy. You're just itching to know, right?"

So Wolf shone. He instinctively took a step back. "Motherfucker." he muttered.

James frowned. "Didn't I always tell you to watch your language?"


	5. Chapter 5

"James? But how-"

"Doesn't matter." James shrugged.

"Doesn't matter?"

"Yes Wolf, it does not matter. It's all hush-hush anyway."

"... I saw-"

"Yes. You saw. You saw me fall."

"But-"

"I'll tell you this Wolf. Executions on Venom are nothing more than theatre entertainment for the masses and that what happens on stage is not necessarily what happens backstage."

"...So you did something backstage? Wait... a deal?"

"Ha! Not always the brightest, but you do catch on pretty quickly sometimes!"

"So, what did you say to convince Andross to spare you?"

"As I said, it doesn't matter. What matter's is that I'm here now, alive and well."

"Okay."

"Ah yeah, let's get you out of this weather, if you don't mind."

"..."

"Wolf, don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Making that expression, as if I'm doing this out of pity for you. Trust me when I say I'm not, but a man deserves better for himself. Besides, I only have a cabin. It barely has any common amenities anyway. And your tent is sort of destroyed."

Wolf looked at the ruins at his feet, embarrassed. "'sigh' You've got a point."

"I'm glad we're on the same page. Now gather your things and let's go." Wolf packed what wasn't ruined and followed James through the forest.

Just then, a thought occurred. "Why doesn't Fox know?"

James let his shoulders sag for a second before rolling them, as if he were about to stretch. "Part of the deal. Anyway, welcome to my humble abode. Built it with my own two paws, yes I did." James said, a smile coming over his face.

"Does anyone else know about you?" Wolf said as he walked his bike next to the cabin.

James shook his head. "No."

"Why do I get a pass then? I think Fox deserves to know."

A look of bemusement replaced the smile as James turned to Wolf. He scratched his head. "When did you... ah, nevermind, I can think about that later. Uh, Wolf there's a difference between being a mentor and being a father."

"I know."

"I know you know. You were my finest student in Flight Academy."

"And you were my only true friend."

James looked down. "I'm sorry."

Wolf stared at him. "Doesn't matter." James looked at him, confused, as Wolf walked by.

"What do you mean?"

"You abandoned the world, abandoned your life. You'd spend the rest of it saying sorry when I get back, but it doesn't matter because doing so would simply put you back here, back where you started."

"Wolf, what happened to you? It's like I barely know you anymore."

"That's what happens when you don't speak to anyone for 16 years. You wanna know what's happened to me?"

"I do. Let's warm up in the cabin first though." Wolf nodded. Opening up the ill-fitting wooden door, it revealed a single, small room whose furnishings were sparse. There was a stained, old couch sitting in front of a fireplace and an equally stained mattress off to the side. In the far corner was a rickety looking desk in front of a "window". Wolf hesitated to call it a window because it looked more like a hole in the wall with some torn, clear plastic covering it than an actual window. He found plenty of candles and lighters on the desk itself, as well as a couple of pencils and plenty of paper.

Truth be told, it was warm, if only because the walls and roof were covered in moss and sod. James followed. Wolf put his backpack in the other corner and sat down on the couch. He crossed his legs, watching James sit down beside him.

"You got any beer?" Wolf asked.

"Wolf, we're in the middle of the wilderness."

"What about smokes?"

"Wilderness, Wolf. We're 500 miles out in the middle of nowhere."

"Shit."

"I had to quit cold turkey too you know. You'll get used to it."

"It sure would make this a lot easier." Then Wolf lit up. "Oh! Some in my bag!"

James shook his head.

"Well." Wolf started, cigarette lit, smoke gently wafting away. "After you 'died', I buried myself in the act of flying. I just wanted to forget. I hated myself for choosing the contract, as well-paying as it was, over you. When you're like that, forgiveness never comes and grudges can easily welcome themselves into your head. You start to wonder what's wrong with you and you sometimes wonder if the universe would be better off without you. For a long time, flying and keeping my comrades alive were my only purposes.

Then Andross invaded Corneria. I didn't care anymore, a contract was a contract, a job was a job. That was also the first time I met Fox." Wolf stared at the fireplace, listening for a response. Receiving none, he continued.

"Fox followed in your footsteps, James. And he's really good. I'm actually pretty sure he inherited your natural talents for flying. And it helps that he looks a lot like you. Helped me at least. I made sure our duels were always fair." Wolf smiled. "Gave me my first loss. Gave me a reality check. Gave me something to chase after. We were always gonna be on opposite sides though, I was convinced it was meant to be. Then the Aparoids happened."

"Aparoids?"

"Aliens who tried to painfully absorb everyone into themselves, real existential threat to Lylat. Anyway, me and Fox faced a common enemy and we fought together. And I realized that there was more to life than just flying and fighting. In a way, I guess, your boy saved me. Before I met him, I was fighting with abandon, luck and skill purely on my side. After, I wanted to live, if only to fight him again. After the Aparoids and saving his ass, I found I couldn't fight him anymore. So, after fulfilling a few more contracts, I gave up while I was ahead of myself and started figuring out what else I could do with my life."

"What did you find?"

"So far, photography."

"I'm glad."

Wolf chuckled. "So am I. Wanna see what I got?"

"Sure. Just one thing."

"What?"

"Don't ever give up on what you love."

Wolf sighed and shook his head slowly. "Corny as ever James, corny as ever."


	6. Chapter 6

Wolf didn't go to sleep that night. He just stared up at the ceiling with but a thin blanket to cover him and the couch and some straw under him. It wasn't that he couldn't get to sleep but rather, he didn't want to subject James to his night terrors, so he just lay there, eyes wide open.

Then another thought came to him: why subject James to it at all? If he left now, that would be the end of it and he could keep forging his own path, like he'd always done. "Yeah. Let's do that then."

As quietly as he could, he got up off the couch and gathered his things. Just as he was about to go through the front door he heard James groggily say "Wolf, where are you going?"

Wolf, not knowing what to say, dropped his things. "I was just gonna have a smoke outside." He grabbed a cigarette and lighter from his bag and leaned against the doorframe side-on to James.

James replied "Couldn't sleep, could you?"

Wolf just smiled as he lit the thing. "I don't sleep much these days."

James sat up. "So, last night... does that happen every night?"

Wolf shrugged. "Yeah, I can never really get used to it though. So some nights, I don't even bother sleeping."

"What do you do instead?"

"Occupy my mind with something else. That's why a lot of my photos are taken at night. I also exercise a lot, running and stretching and all that."

James cocked his head. "I think I know a place nearby that you might like."

Wolf put a paw through his chin fur. "Really? Mind showing me?"

"Of course." James paused, then grinned. "Follow me." Out through the door he walked with Wolf close behind. With the woods as thick as they were, the canopy hid the sky above. Wolf had a bit of trouble moving his bulky body in between the trees, at one point getting stuck. James stuck out his hand to help but Wolf refused, instead using his own to successfully punch the tree down at waist level. 

Smirking at James' bewildered face he said "Weren't we going somewhere?"

James coughed. "Umm, uh, y-yeah, we're almost there anyway. See that slope?" James pointed slightly left of where they were currently facing.

Wolf had no trouble seeing it. "Yeah."

"Ok, good. That's where we're going." Wolf nodded and they kept walking. It wasn't a steep nor long climb, but it did get a little slippery due to the leaves. About 10 minutes after unstuck from the trees, James and Wolf arrived at their destination: the summit of a hill that offered an unimpeded view of the sky and the forest below them.

Wolf's breath hitched. "Oh, wow!" Was all he could say.

"I know. There's just something about it, about being here that feels right. Like, for a moment, everything's right with the universe. I'm at peace here." They were both sat down, enjoying the moment, tails wagging happily.

There were so many lights above them, only a few actually moving across the sky, mostly air and space transport. But the others, the ones that didn't move, were stars. Stars he would most likely never visit, stars that were far outside even the Lylat system. And the forest seemed to stretch on forever in all directions, making him wonder just what was out there. 

He felt small, but as James said, it felt right; he was happy with being small. He felt convinced that, if he could witness a vista like this every night, then being small was the best thing in the world.

Then James talked, knocking Wolf out of his introspective daze. "I've been thinking for a little bit. The way you talk about Fox..."

"What about it?" Wolf replied in monotone.

"Well, it sounds like there's more than just respect for him. When you talked about him... It sounded almost like admiration."

"..."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Wolf-"

"If you brought me here just so we could talk about Fox, then you can ju-"

"No, YOU and Fox."

Wolf turned to look at him. "What."

"You and Fox, as a thing. A relationship. A couple."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me. We're not a couple, never-"

"Not yet!" James said playfully, wiggling his eyebrows.

Wolf facepalmed. "James, if I wanted relationship advice from a 58 year old fox, I would've asked."

"So you admit you want to be in a relationship?"

"NO!" Wolf coughed. "I mean, no. I don't have that kind of interest. I mean for fuck's sake, do you know how many hookers and strippers I've fu-"

James put his paws up. "Yes. I can imagine that you've had many flings with ladies of the night. But I'm just saying, maybe you swing both ways."

Wolf got up. "Highly doubt it. Thanks for showing me this place by the way. Reminds me why I came to Corneria in the first place. Eh, might as well get a couple pictures." Finishing, Wolf looked down at James. "Coming with?"

James smiled. "Of course."

\--

James sadly looked on as Wolf thrashed about on the couch, yipping all the while. 

After getting back, Wolf fell asleep on the couch and another round of night terrors overtook him. James took one of his paws and gently squeezed. He winced as Wolf nearly crushed his paw. It was gonna be another long night. It left James to wonder if Wolf had left something out during his explanation the night before. He shrugged. "Oh, well" he thought, "it'll come out in due time."


	7. Chapter 7

The last few days had been ones Wolf would remember for a long time to come. It was almost like James had never left, almost. While basic survivalist tactics had been taught at the Academy, it was nothing like James was doing, for those courses were meant for someone to survive for a few weeks at most and not years like James had.

Hunting, fishing, foraging, woodworking, and gathering firewood were just some of the many things they did together. Wolf found himself actually enjoying making things from the wood they cut down. He also enjoyed the stories James told of his exploits within these woods and he told a few of his own.

Then it all came to an end.

It had been one of those nights that Wolf sat on the hill to watch the stars. James was back in the cabin asleep. Then "What is that?" Wolf squinted his eyes as he saw one of the lights move across, growing bigger every second. The light got close enough to resolve itself as several lights tacked onto a shape that looked oddly familiar to him. He squinted again and his breath hitched as he recognized the symbol on its side. He ran, ran as fast as he could to make sure James was alright and warn him to get out of here; those were his intentions at least.

His heartbeat ran a mile a minute only to freeze as he got to his destination, hidden behind a tree. 

"He's asleep."

"Good, no struggle then?" Wolf internally gasped. He recognized that voice. But it couldn't be, he was told that that ape had died.

"No, sir."

"Bring him to the Nadir then. We'll get started as soon as we arrive."

Wolf wondered if he could confront the owner of said voice, not knowing what his own reaction was going to be.

"Wolf, I know you're there." Said owner said casually. It was now or nothing. Wolf closed his eyes as he stepped from behind the tree. "You're terrible at hiding you know that? Although, you have grown since I last saw you."

Wolf opened his eyes and all those memories came flooding back at once. He stared at the figure in front of him, glassy eyes. Those painful memories. The figure was responsible for all of them.

"What? No words?" He asked mockingly. He rolled his eyes. "There's a tracker in you. It's because of you that we found him." He said, pointing to the prone body of James being dragged into the ship. "We heard you talking. James has nobody since he divorced himself from society so, he's perfect."

Wolf, stuck in his memories, heard none of this. The figure, getting bored with the lack of reaction, went to leave. Wolf shook with adrenaline, all his emotions exploding to the forefront in a cacophony of voices, yet he could only see red. His lips pulled back into a growl with the ears sticking up and the tail out.

"YOU!!" He roared as he attempted to attack the retreating back of the ape. A guard got in the way and paid dearly for it as Wolf absorbed a laser blast and smashed in the helmet with a single blow before throwing him off to the side. Catching up to the figure, he raked at the back, only for his claws to pass through completely. Again and again he tried to harm the ape in some way. "You do know I'm a hologram right? Although the rage you're showing is beautiful. Unfortunately, I must be on my way. James and I have a date with destiny." The figure looked back to a raggedly breathing Wolf with a smirk. "Toodaloo!" He said as the door to the ship closed. And Wolf realized that James was nowhere to be seen. Then the ship lifted off. 

Not wanting to see it leave his sight, he ran for his gravbike and followed all the way up until the ship left the atmosphere altogether; the bike wasn't built for space. Going back to the cabin, he gathered his things and texted the cat and lizard to meet him at the edge of a nearby town. Just as he was about to leave however, he saw the body of the mook he had thrown laying limply in the grass. "Oh." He didn't want to confront this, yet felt compelled to. "Shit." He approached the body and turned it over. He recoiled at the sight of the caved-in skull and its heavily distorted face. 

With the body buried, he went on his way, promising himself not to do that again. He refused to look at his hands for that next while, feeling nauseous whenever he did. 

He leaned on his bike, a cigarette pressed between his lips, not paying attention to what people thought of him and his dirty biker getup. Just as he thought, Leon and Panther came down in their respective ships, he looked away as they parked nearby.

Their clothes hadn't changed much since he last saw them 2 years ago: Purple with red trim instead of grey.

"Lookin' spiffy boss! Though you might wanna get cleaned up." Leon said.

"And... ugghh..." Panther covered his nose. "Maybe improve your hygiene? Besides, why'd you call us down, don't you have a lot of money?"

Wolf shot him a look. "Money means jackshit if it's Venomian and I don't have enough to get myself or my clothes washed, let alone get off this rock." He looked back up to the sky.

"Do you want us to clean you up or something? Or..."

Wolf glared at Panther who held his paws up. "Just a suggestion." He said.

They all stood awkwardly as Wolf maintained a silence. Finally, after a few minutes, he said "Darren Ripley is back."

Panther cocked an eyebrow while Leon had a look of confusion on his face. "Wolf," Leon started. "After what he did to you, I made sure he knew what real suffering meant. I carved him up finer than a turkey on Thanksgiving, I made sure of it."

Panther continued. "Then the ship we rescue- I mean, got you from blew up. Dr. Darren Ripley is deader than dead."

Wolf hummed. "That's what you keep telling me. Truth is, I'm not sure. I saw a hologram of Ripley, but I dunno if that is Ripley or someone just pretending to be him, to get into my head or something."

"Well, all I can say is if you need our help, we'll be there when we can be. 

"I need to stop him once and for all."

Panther replied. "'sigh' I can't believe I'm saying this but Wolf, you can't really do something like this on your own. Considering the circumstances, you might need the help of... of..."

Wolf cocked his head. "Yeah?"

"Star Fox!"


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf looked long and hard at Panther. "You're serious aren't you?" He said.

"Uh... W-well... Yes." Panther stammered out.

"Mmhmm. Why, pray tell, did you give my number to Star Fox?"

Leon answered. "Boss, with all due respect, they were the only other ones at your bedside."

Panther continued. "And-and I know that there's the whole rivalry thing still, but we came by as often as we could and Star Fox seemed to be there all the time. Look, the silence was extremely awkward and it was just so uncomfortable so-."

"Panther. Maybe if you had just shut up like I suggested-"

"Not everyone is an asocial asshole like you. I can't stand not talking forever. Also, don't question your-"

"Heh, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Number?" Wolf growled slightly.

Panther coughed. "Anyways, one thing led to another and we exchanged contacts. Even Leon has Falco's number."

Wolf looked genuinely shocked. "Is that true?"

Leon took out his phone. "See for yourself."

"...Well, goddamn. Heh, you guys really are something else." Then Wolf's stomach growled. "Fuck! I am starving! You know what Panther? I'm taking you up on your offer after all."

"Okay, Wolf."

"And just wash the clothes. I can wash myself. Oh, and have a couple of your intelligence officers look up either a ship or station called the "Nadir."

"No problem, Wolf."

"And Panther, if you can, load my bike onto your ship."

Panther nodded.

"Leon, I'll be going up with you."

Leon smirked at Panther. "Absolutely boss!"

\--

The shower, admittedly, felt good. There was a certain satisfaction in watching all the dirt in his fur go down the drain. Focusing on untying all the knots in his fur felt like an exercise in meditation despite the pain of constantly tugging the wrong way.

He hated his traitor paws.

Still, he had to lather, wash, rinse, and dry. And afterwards, he sighed in both contentment and loathing. The fact that his only change of clothes were a pair of worn out jeans and a plain orange t-shirt didn't help. It just felt so "civilian" to him, it didn't fit the kind of person he felt he was. But this is what he had, he may as well use it. He couldn't even remember who gave him the shirt anyway. "'Cause I definitely didn't choose it." He thought.

Leaving the bathroom, Wolf decided to go the cafeteria; get something to soothe the monster that was his stomach. Striding in, he quickly surveyed the area and found that almost nothing had changed, not even the damn lunch lady.

"Marjorie!" He called out.

"Wolf?!"

"In the flesh!"

"When you said you wanted to discover yourself, this isn't what I pictured."

"What do you mean?"

"You look like an overgrown pup, Wolf!"

Wolf rolled his eyes. "This is temporary Marjorie, my other clothes are in the wash right-" Wolf's stomach growled in protest. "Uh, how many sandwiches can you whip up?"

"How many are we talking?"

"I dunno. Make 10, and if I'm still hungry, make another 10."

"Does the little Wolfy want a juice too?" She said, making a couple of the other guys in the room chuckle a little.

"Haha, very funny. Just get the food ready."

"Okay." She said. "Although I must say, that shirt is very revealing. When was the last time you wore it?"

"I don't remember and I don't care. Food. Make it!" Sounding more desperate than he intended. She smiled in return.

He ate sandwiches hand over fist. At the end of it, he let out a small burp as he slouched back in the plastic chair. Marjorie stomped over.

"I don't believe you."

"What?"

"Don't what me! I'm out of meat and bread because of you! And the cheese isn't much better!"

"Well, look at it this way: at least the ingredients will be fresh now."

"Yes, and they're fucking expensive! God! You must've had like 30 of those things! And you didn't even have a drink. I was actually certain that your shirt was gonna rip from your sheer ballooning."

"Yeah... Can I just sit here for a while?"

She snorted. "At least you asked this time." He let his arms hang as he sat, letting that feeling of being content wash over him again. 

It felt like he was back home.

After a while, he got up and headed toward his old office, curious to see how much had changed. He walked through the door to see a small stack of papers on his desk with Panther face deep in it. He wore glasses. His ears swiveled. "Wolf. You really should knock before entering. What do you want?"

"Oh, just wanted to visit the old office." Wolf looked around at the shelves full of books. "Shit, you've got a lot of books here, not like me at all."

"Indeed."

"Wait, was the carpet always this color?"

"Yes, Wolf. Unlike you, I mind untidy spaces."

Wolf started to feel a bit awkward. "Star Panther seems to be doing well."

"Well, thank you for noticing. We've got a contract with one of the non-aligned planetary governments that gives us the funding and in return, we mostly do jobs for them.

Which brings me to you. I respect you. I would not be the "cat" I am today without you. You were an excellent commander and, strangely enough, a great teacher. That being said, I feel you've regressed somewhat. I think you've grown used to being alone too much. And, if I'm thinking of this correctly, you don't have much of a plan other than board, infiltrate and destroy. We-"

Wolf snarled at him. "I don't need you to tell me what to do! I-i know what I'm doing. Besides, I don't need to drag you into this any more than I already have."

Panther laughed. "Wolf! You've already dragged us into this! What was it you once said? 'Once we got the job, it's all or nothing'? Well, it's the same here. We've got your back, whether you like it or not."

Panther laughed even harder as Wolf pouted. "Hahahaha! Oh man, haven't laughed like that in a while. Say, how about we do a little stargazing?" Wolf cocked his head. "The observation room hasn't changed if that's what you're wondering and don't worry, I kept your seat warm."

Wolf started wagging his tail. " Since when are you so relaxed?"

Panther smiled. "Being commander has been freeing, in a way. I got to show myself fully and nobody batted an eye. All they cared about was how I could lead. Once I showed them I was capable, that was the end of that. Now let's shut up and look at some space."


	9. Chapter 9

"It's gonna be a while until we find this "Nadir". There's a lot of records to look through so you're just gonna have to get comfortable for the time being." Panther said as he got back to work.

"Thanks. It was great being back there. I missed the view." Wolf exclaimed.

"No problem, Wolf. Now I got work to do so if you'll excuse me." He dove back into his papers and gestured for Wolf to leave.

Wolf went off to look for Leon, so he tried his room first. The door was closed so Wolf simply threw the door open. He immediately went red at the sight of Leon laying back in his bed, with a VR headset on with one hand wrapped around his dick and the other behind his head. Wolf closed the door before Leon could notice and wandered the halls a little bit to clear his head. 

He felt something bump into him which prompted him to look up. "Watch where you're- Wolf?!"

"Andrew."

"What are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking you Andrew. Does the ghost of your uncle still overshadow your judgement? Because as far as I can tell, you're still the entitled little pissant who couldn't fly for shit. In fact, I bet your monkey ass-"

"Woah! Calm down! I don't fly anymore! I'm better! I'm a tactical advisor. As for my uncle, well, I'd like to think I've surpassed him on some level. Now get your judgemental ass out of my way! I got a meeting to get to."

"Yeah, fuck you too." Wolf muttered as Andrew rounded the corner. He rubbed his head. "Fuck. I need to lay down." Off to the guest room he went to lay down on the surprisingly plush bed. Though, he thought of how much Panther must be raking in with a constant flow of contracts, he guessed that it shouldn't have been that surprising. His body shivered in relief as it was enveloped by the sheets and mattress, he hadn't felt this kind of luxury in a while.

Then without knowing, he fell asleep. 

It was cold. That's the first thing he noticed. Icy even. Not that it mattered because the second thing he noticed was how ravenously hungry he was. It took nearly all his willpower to hold that feeling back as he took in the rest of the scene. It took serious strength just to open his eyelids. A dark, dank room was what awaited him and it stank of waste and must. Then he realized he wasn't completely cold, he could feel someone else leaning against him. He turned to face them but found he could barely move; he settled for just a flash of orange which triggered memories. Andross, invasion, Corneria... right, destroyed. Him and Fox were the only survivors and even that wouldn't-... wait, Fox? Yeah" he thought, "Fox."

He tried to talk though only a rasp came out. "Knowing what happened was supposed to be my burden and mine alone."

He whispered. "Fox, you were never supposed to know."

He didn't get a response. He didn't bother moving, he was probably horribly skinny anyway. Same with Fox.

He heard nothing from his companion. "Fuck it, might as well join you." And he closed his eyes.

Only to open them to a very different scene, a scene of pure horror. Things he could not describe accurately were chasing him. They were coming out of the walls and ceiling. It was all bleeding and pulsing and breathing as if they were alive! But they were but horribly twisted and mutated imitations of what was once life, minds broken and never to return. The halls crawled as he ran to the engine core. The noise, the constant noise was hurting him; driving him mad. He knew if he was caught, his death would be gruesome. The memories of the deaths of Panther, Leon, and Krystal made sure of that. It was just him... and the bomb he was holding. 

His feet hurt and his lungs burned. But he had managed to make it! He slapped it on and... he could hear them coming. There was no escape. His colleagues were dead. There was no thought of escape. With a grin, he set it to one second and let it go. There was burning then nothing.

And he woke up.

He groaned. "Did I just go to sleep? Yeah I did." He shook his head. "Haven't had that one in a- wait, did anyone hear me?"

He shouted. "Hey!"

No answer. He breathed a sigh of relief that is until he heard footsteps start to walk away. He ran to open it and found Leon casually walking down the hall. "Hey!" He called out. 

Leon turned around, looking a little agitated. "Yeah?"

"Were you just listening in on me?"

Leon's eyes went wide. "What? No. No. I just finished taking a shit. It was just coincidence that you heard me passing by." Wolf looked at him with suspicion. "You and I both know that the most convenient way to confirm that right now, is to sniff my ass." Wolf went red. "And as flattering as that would be," Leon smirked. "It's not really my thing." 

"Shut up!" Wolf yelled.

"Later!" Leon said as he walked on.

Wolf promptly closed his door. He covered both eyes with one hand as he slumped against it. "When the hell are they gonna find that ship?!"


	10. Chapter 10

His patience had worn a bit thin since his days in Star Wolf, but this was only partly why he was pacing back and forth in his room. It was obvious what the other factor was. It wasn't like Leon had dramatically changed or anything. He was always charming in how crude and competitive he was and it was obvious that he liked Wolf, they weren't friends for 15 years for nothing. But something was off in that relationship now, as if Wolf's absence had kickstarted something. 

And what about Andrew? Who knows. Although Wolf did frown at the ape tendency to want to work with other apes.

Speaking of other apes, when were they going to find that fucking ship? If it wasn't soon, he would go out there himself.

What did all this mean though? Was there any meaning to it? Was he just overthinking?

It took Wolf a moment to register the knocking at the door. Then another knock. Wolf lurched towards the door, the knob slipping in his sweat. His breathing was heavy. He had to dissipate that energy somehow. Not even a long dose of exercise could stop his pacing. Finally, with bated breath, he opened the door.

Standing on the other side was a lizard in a suit, Wolf's breath hitched.

"Your clothes sir."

Then he let it out as he realized that the only similarities were that they were both lizards and that this guy looked nothing like Leon. He took the neatly folded clothes from the lizard's hands.

"Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome sir. Have a good day."

Then Wolf realized, "Since when do we have butlers!?"

\--

"Wally, report?" Panther commanded.

"Sir, there have been no visits by any ship named "Nadir" to any spaceports within the last 4 months."

"Which means that it has an excess of supplies or that the craft is self-sustaining or that it's making unauthorized landings."

"Yes sir. We have also been tracking any and all communications traffic over the last 2 weeks and no ping has been traced back to the unique ID that would identify the ship that it came from."

"Hmmm."

"However, there have been tens of messages sent out to what is presumably the same ship if the senders' coordinates are anything to go by. The messages amount to hails and hellos. It's been occurring for the last few days. The scout is already on his way."

Panther nodded. "Good. Keep me updated."

"Yes sir."

Panther elected not to inform Wolf of the possible candidate. For one, he wanted to be sure that it was the right ship and two, Wolf had been acting a bit antsy ever since he'd come aboard. It mostly came in the form of the swish-swashing of his tail and self-mutterings that Panther could barely hear, not to mention the seemingly endless number of smokes the dog had.

He did tell Leon though who in turn, told Wolf, leaving Panther to regret that he told anyone at all. He knew Leon was naturally a troublemaker so he chastised himself, why tell him? After a few minutes, he just chalked it up to being fooled by the lizard's charisma yet again. He snorted. Why was he so gullible?

\--

Wolf was absolutely brimming with energy, he was practically vibrating. "So they found it? What are we waiting for? We need to get out there!"

"We don't know for sure!"

"So you say Leon... but, it just sounds like he's hiding in plain sight, masquerading as an abandoned station. Who knows what's going on up there?!" Wolf said as he tightly gripped the end of the bed, his left eye twitching with anticipation.

"Wolf, just calm down and-"

Wolf grimaced. "Think about it? I already have. I'm going. Wait up or don't, I don't care. All I want is to make sure he can't hurt anyone else. And don't tell me to calm down." He said, his voice lowering. "It pisses me off." He half-muttered, half-snarled to himself.

\--

Why was he so gullible indeed? Why did it surprise him at all that Leon reported Wolf was headed toward the transportation bay?

He sent out a message to all necessary personnel to lock down the transport bay until further notice and to restrict Wolf's movements to the bare essentials: room, washroom, and cafeteria.

Wolf banged on the door with visible frustration with both paws. "Why won't it open? Why won't it fucking open?!" He started yelling and yanked on the knob of the door, tearing it out and using the hole as leverage to rip the door open. Getting reports of this from his security officers, Panther ordered barbiturates be used to knock him out safely and prevent more of a rampage from occurring.

"I'll get a fucking ship if it's the last fucking thing I do!!!" Wolf screamed as heavily armed security arrived and sunk shot after shot into Wolf's body. He lumbered forward still as 6, 7, 8 shots were finally enough to put him down. 3 of the guards dragged his body back to his room while Leon looked on.

Panther called. "Leon, you're a fucking asshole, you know that?"

"I know. Bit more than what I expected though. Thanks for the flattery! Although, you did tell me..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, next time he wakes up, stall him until we know what we're dealing with. When that happens, you are to accompany him along with a ship infiltration expert and 3 of our best men, got it?"

Leon had a shit-eating grin on as he said "Of course, commander."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where things take a turn.

"Sir, the scouts have just reported back. The electronics of the "Nadir" are completely offline, not that it could attack us anyway as it has no weapons to speak of. Strangely, there are a number of lifeforms on the ship so the life support system must be functioning to some degree.

As well, it has been recorded that the "Nadir" has been a research vessel for the entirety of its existence."

"Researching what, exactly?"

"Experimentation in biotechnology."

"... Ok. Thank you for the update. You may leave now."

Wally nodded, turned around and left. Panther texted Leon "How's it going down there? Also, change of plans."

"Good. Wolf is under control. What's the plan now?"

"The plan is to simply blow the vessel into debris. It's not abandoned, it was a host to various biotechnological programs, and we don't know exactly what we're dealing with. Better be safe than sorry. Tell Wolf to come up here and watch the fireworks."

"..."

"Leon?"

"He just went mental again. Screaming about 'James McCloud' and how other innocent people might be aboard. I don't want this to happen again, so could you clarify if the signals were moving or not?"

"Yes, just a second." Panther called Wally.

"Sir?"

"I need to know if the signals the scouts recieved were moving?"

"No sir, but it was only a brief scan, though, they did mention a line formed in one of the rooms."

"Hmmm."

"Sir?"

"Thank you."

"Yes, sir."

Panther had a very bad feeling about what Plan A would entail, but the client wants what the client gets, even if that client currently had very poor judgement. 

And that's why Panther moved his ship in close to allow the 6 to enter the station. Leon joked that he was a better businessman than leader but Panther could definitely see the truth in that right now as he watched his friends and his best fighters step into the unknown. 

\--

Leon was concerned. Had Wolf really changed that much in the couple of years they had been apart? He was barely recognizable at this point. He had already been pretty intimidating leading Star Wolf but paled in comparison to the hulking, primal figure standing before him. From what he could gather, Wolf had simply been wandering since leaving the hospital. Self-confidence and control issues seemed to get through his facade at times, but it had never shattered so completely before and that made this Wolf somewhat unpredictable. That made Wolf scary... and hot. And it started as soon as Wolf met them... or was it before that? Had there been a trigger then? Leon shook his head. Too many questions. This ship had something to do with it, that he was certain of.

They all stepped through the airlock which hissed as it closed. The small screen to their right indicated that the gravity and atmospheric pressure on the ship was appropriate for life on Venom; perfect.

Stepping onto the station proper, they found no lights on. The heat was on but it was very dry, something Leon found disagreeable, giving him another reason to dislike the place. 

The infiltration expert was at the front, followed by the soldiers, then Wolf, and finally Leon. Besides their footsteps, the occasional clanging of something moving could be heard somewhere else on the station; Leon figured they would deal with it as they got to it. Of course, Wolf's attention was diverted by these noises and with a snarl, went after them. Leon chased after him. "Come back you idiot! We need to stick together! Don't you remember that?!" But it was as if Wolf hadn't heard, he kept running, obsessed with chasing down those sounds. Leon sighed, aimed at his shoulder, and fired. The blinding pain got Wolf to stop, a single glowing, electric blue eye staring down at him.

"We're do you think you're going?!Cooperation is everything Wolf! Or did you forget?" Leon loudly whispered. The eye seemed to contemplate what Leon said before it settled into a sort of half-dead stare. "Leon? Wolf? Where the fuck are you?" The expert's voice chimed in. 

"Wolf got distracted and-"

"I don't care how it happened! Just get back here!"

"Will do. You heard'em Wolf, we need to cooperate. Let's go back." Wolf nodded, then followed.

Their first objective was to enter and investigate the room which had the line of pings in it, if the owners of the footsteps didn't meet them first.

Corner after corner they rounded, doing so as quietly and stealthily as possible. Even so, more and more footsteps seemed to sound all around them as if they were moving gradually to surround them by numbers alone. "I don't like this." The expert, Damian said. "We're gonna have to move more quickly if we're to avoid their forces. Besides, the room shouldn't be much farther."

They rounded another corner when Damian was sent flying. He slid down the hall on his back for about 20 feet before he came to a stop. He struggled to get up as he coughed up blood. "Fuck." He muttered.

They all turned to face the thing that had struck him and immediately started firing their blasters. Its gaunt face snarled at them, its head skeletal. Leon didn't know his skulls too well, but he reckoned it was a deer if the horns were anything to go by. It loomed over them with 4 tall, spindly legs that scuttled to and fro whenever it moved with 2 extra limbs coming out from atop the torso. Already, one leg had been blasted off. Leon figured the soldiers didn't need him, so he turned around only to find an equally bizarre creature standing on 3 legs with a column of eyes on one side of its face fighting Wolf, who appeared to be defending Damian as he struggled to stand. Leon took aim and fired, taking out an eye; the creature screamed in pain and fury, making Wolf flinch. Leon fired again and again and again, until the creature was blind.

Damian fired the final shot, his kinetic round blowing the monster's head to bits. 

More creatures appeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the shift in genre was too abrupt.


	12. Chapter 12

Why the cat had decided that the ship needed a cozier looking interior instead of, let's say, more effective equipment, Damian would never know. The scouts' life signal detectors couldn't tell the difference between a regular-sized person and something larger, like say, a bunch of fucking monsters that are about to kill you! All the dots were of the same size! If Damian got back, that cat would be done for!

Speaking of....

"What the fuck! What the fuck?!" He could hear the soldiers say as they blasted off the legs of the skittering one, making howl in what was assumed to be pain, which for some reason, made Wolf howl.

So many other memories were starting to come out. This ship was the reason for his size and strength. Ripley had tried to destroy him; starve him, grow him, put his mind through an endless gauntlet of death and destruction through his infernal machines. He had tried to control him. Wolf had been a lot of things but mentally weak he wasn't.

He howled in empathy, at what these creatures had once been, at the agony they must have suffered and endured to reach this horrible state. He didn't want to hurt others anymore. But, if other's lives were nothing but hurting, then he would become a weapon of mercy. 

More monsters had come.

"Good." His mind concurred as he drew his knife. He ran at something that was crawling on numerous legs that stuck out from its sides. Without slowing down, he stabbed at the base of its skull. He looked back as it collapsed without a sound. In doing so however, he bumped into a many-eyed beast whose blood-tears constantly seeping from it threatened to burn holes in his combat gear. It's amorphous form made it almost impossible to figure out how to kill it in one strike. He moved around it, trying to find a weak spot. Without warning, it forced a stream of blood from its eyes at him. He moved back just in time to watch it start bubbling against the metal floor. That blood had to come from somewhere. He moved fast and stabbed the creature next to its tear duct, making it gush blood over a wall. He moved on, only to hear one of the mercenaries yelp and then scream in terrible pain as he attempted to get back up after slipping in the newly made blood pool.

Defending their comrade, one of the others had been disemboweled as the long claw of another thing passed its way through his stomach, Damian unloaded his gun into its chest, felling it like a great tree.

The smell of blood in the air, the sights of monster corpses and the agonizingly slow retreat as more chased after them, the taste of iron and copper, and of course, the whimpering of the injured and the cursing of those retreating, all made Wolf...

snap.

His mission now made itself more urgent: defend his colleagues and humanely put down the beasts.

But his colleagues had left him, trying their best to get him to follow them. He hadn't heard them, he shrugged off the laser blasts that tried to get his attention, even a bullet whizzing past his head failed to distract him from his mission as he stabbed the creatures approaching them; wildly, frantically. 

They were witnessing overkill in action. He disappeared into the dark as they made their way to the airlock, resuiting the injured in ill-fitting spacesuits, and made their way back to the ship. 

\--

"Panther! We have to retreat!"

"What's going on in there?"

"Monsters! Everywhere! Wolf's gone crazy! And we have two who are severely injured! We're not prepared for this!"

"Then the instructions are simple: return to the ship, recuperate, and- wait, what about Wolf?"

"He's. Not. Listening. We've tried everything!"

"Including what?"

"Yelling, shooting, stunning, Leon even tried to comfort him!"

"Fuck! I just wanted to blow the damn thing up and get this over with!" Panther thought. "Then we have no choice but to leave him for now. You may come aboard."

After getting the injured to sick bay, Damian and Leon went their separate ways to get some rest. Damian felt exhausted after what had happened and dreaded going back, but he wasn't about to leave a man behind... for good. Leon knew he liked danger, but he had no idea that life and death situations could be such a turn on; it beat survival horror VR games by a long shot!

Later, at the conference room, Damian, Leon, the remaining merc involved, and Panther went over the new plan once more.

"Sir, with all due respect, Star Fox are a bunch of flyers, not fighters. It's their specialty. Even armed to the teeth, I'm not sure they could hold their own in such a constricting environment." Damian said.

Panther replied. "And, I'll say this again, Star Fox would be the most willing to accept the nature of this mission. And, may I remind you Damian Ragonne, that you have never seen Star Fox in action outside their Arwings and that I have. I have full trust that they can help pull this off."

"I hate to say it," Leon said. "But when you're right, Panther, you're right. I'd hate to see Falco again, though."

"I'll take whatever I can get." The merc chimed.

" 4-1... Then it's settled. We're calling Star Fox." Panther said, his eyes glinting.


	13. Chapter 13

All Wolf had was his senses. He long ago dropped his knife, thick with blood, into a pool of resulting gore. Bodies of mismatched parts were strewn about the ship, their twitching nothing more than their barely recognizable corpses reaching for one last strand of life, life that wasn't there.

There had been so many that Wolf had lost count, not that it mattered. There were still little pitter-patters of feet to attend to. Something was running around and he would find it, and painlessly end it there. 

Wolf had sustained a few injuries: a slash wound on his chest near his neck, a couple of stab wounds on his torso, and a moderately deep scratch near his mouth; he paid them no mind. His helmet had long been knocked off, making the stench of waste and blood thick against his sensitive nose. His suit, as it was, would be unusable going back through space with.

His ears were stood straight up, acting like satellite dishes, tracking where the sounds could be coming from. He followed with a single-track minded intensity, stepping as quietly and as quickly as he could through the dark. 

He rounded a corner and was faced with the sprinting back of a naked simian that came up to his chest. For some reason his footprints were wet, but he looked familiar.... Wolf easily caught up, caught the arm of the ape and swung him around. Whatever consciousness Wolf had completely dissolved into the pits of wrath; no mercy would be spared for this creature, as Wolf looked into the face of Dr. Ripley himself.

Wolf tightened his grip on Ripley's arm, not registering the look of terror and pain on his face. The snapping of bone resonated through the halls, as well the howl of pain that followed which was swiftly silenced as Wolf swung him by the arm and slammed him against the wall with such force that it dented slightly. Not done, Wolf tore into him turning claws and maw red.

Another pitter-patter of feet sounded nearby. Wolf leapt off of Ripley's remains as he chased down the owner of the foot slaps. Another simian. Wolf shoved him down. Turn him over! Turn him over! His mind screamed at him. Wolf turned him into his back. It was Dr. Ripley. Wolf was at first confused. Didn't he just kill Ripley? Ate him? Wasn't that the end? Then he grinned to himself. What would happen if he killed this one? Would another come along? Would there be an infinite line? Wolf's tail wagged at the prospect as he jammed his claws into the ape's eyes, making him pathetically whimper. Unsatisfied, Wolf pulled his hands in either direction with his thumbs still hooked in, tearing lines into the flesh. Ripley screamed and squirmed, trying desperately to tear the offending hands away, Wolf obliged.

"Run." He whispered into the monkey's ear. Ripley stumbled off down the hall trying to desperately find an escape. Wolf followed, watching the tormented thing with glee, a torrent of blood running down its cheeks.

Ripley's walking became more erratic as he struggled to maintain his balance, eventually falling and crawling his way - somewhere. Wolf pounced, delighting in the way his claws peeled away the skin, exposing that delectable muscle.

Wolf waited for the next round of footsteps to come. He didn't have to wait long. He got up as Dr. Ripley ran past, not noticing Wolf in the darkness. Wolf made his footsteps heavy, making sure that it could hear him. It kept running and running, until it stopped as it was out of breath. Then Wolf bear hugged him from behind and grabbed hold of the centre of his chest, pulling, ripping it open, exposing his innards for - Wolf looked around - none to see, but him. Wolf licked his chops as the thing in his arms died from shock. Wolf dropped him. 

He was hearing a pattern now. He could hear them coming far from his right. He caught the fourth one, and slammed its head into the wall until it was nothing but mush.

A fifth one he scalped. He made the sixth wear it like a mask, using the hair as string. Then he slit its throat. Their origin was just around the bend now, he could hear the body dropping to the floor, then getting up and running. He ambushed it, and in doing so, saw the strangest sight in his life: it sat, suspended in midair. A bloated, stinking body whose insides were visible. Pipes went down its distended mouth to breathe the stale, recycled air into it, its lungs inflating and deflating to a certain rythym. 

There was nothing above the mouth and there were no limbs. With its torso splayed open, it was but an empty husk of what once was. What replaced most of the innards was some kind of abominable birthing system filled with several clones of Dr. Ripley in different stages of fetusdom amongst child versions, the next clone about to pop out of the gaping hole at the bottom.

"Do you like it?" Dr. Ripley asked, his hologram entering the room.

Wolf transfixed, asked "What did you do?"

"Simple." Ripley replied. "I uploaded my mind to the mothership and modified my body to how I saw fit. I was going to create an army and lead Venom. Those so-called "monsters", my babies, were simply defending their nest."

"They used to be people."

"Yes. I liked watching you torture me, it was exhilarating watching my greatest creation work like he should."

"What do you-"

"My clones were merely food for my babies after all."

Wolf looked at him in disgust.

"And you. I was waiting for you. Waiting for a trigger... I had an emotional modulator installed deep in your brain to be activated as soon as the trigger was sensed. And a tracker, that's why it was so easy to get in, Wolf. You were invited.

But eventually, I became impatient, Wolf. That's why I forced a situation to happen."

Wolf lifted an eyebrow.

"Your meeting with James was no coincidence. In fact, that wasn't James at all."

"I don't believe you."

"Anything is possible with enough data, Wolf. Check my nightmare simulator."

Wolf didn't want to. Didn't want to open the machine that caused him so much stress in his life, that was the source, but it was like he couldn't help himself, his curiosity had been piqued. The door opened with a whoosh, revealing a single figure lying lifeless on the floor. A closer look revealed the stitching between body parts, the face looking like it had been molded by an expert taxidermist. The eyes were white, like a dummy's.

"It was a lure, all of it." Darren gloated.

"For what?"

"This." And Wolf became aware of a switch in him, the blind rage returning with a fury.

"A grand exit."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to redo this chapter because it ended with a dream that retconned most of the story except for chapter 1 and a bit of chapter 2. I was not fine with that.

Wolf O'Donnell woke with a splitting headache. "Uuuuuyggghhh... what happened?" he asked no one in particular, holding his head as he sat up. "What the..." Wolf said, quickly looking around at his surroundings. "Where the fuck am I?!" He took in the hospital bed he was sitting on with curtains drawn, and the hospital gown he was wearing.

"Hey! HEY!" 

"God! Shut the hell up!" Someone nearby shouted back.

"Where am I?!"

"You're at the hospital, idiot!"

"I know that you dumbass! Which hospital?"

"Gee, I don't know, Corneria City General?! Now shut the fuck up! I'm trying to read here!"

"What's going on in here? I heard shouting." A nurse said as she walked in.

"Great, you got the nurse's attention. Just my luck..."

"Where am I?" Wolf asked the nurse.

"Oh! You woke up! You're in the intensive care unit of Corneria City General. You got hurt pretty bad out there."

"Huh?"

His confusion unacknowledged, the nurse ran out of the room. Soon enough, a doctor came by.

"Hey Wolf, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck." Wolf said, holding his head again."

"Well, you're not far from the truth there, actually." Wolf cocked his head. "You had an accident, Wolf. You crashed on your bike, you hit another car, you went flying."

"I... don't remember that."

"Nobody expects you to. You hit your head hard enough to split the helmet in two for crying out loud. It's a miracle you're still alive."

"How long was I out for?"

"About a week."

"A week?!!"

"Yeah, a week, give or take a day. Amazingly, the only other thing that had to be dealt with was your arm. You broke it. And it's setting right now."

Wolf looked at his right arm in shock. "Haha, don't worry. You'll be right as rain in no time. But first, we need to run a few tests to see how much longer you're going to stay here."

"So, everything afterwards... it was a dream?"

"Yes. Oh, looks like I need to be on my way. I'll be back soon." 

"Sure." Wolf said tiredly. "What a goddamn nightmare that was."

It felt like days had passed by the time the doctor had come back, although it was only an hour since. Wolf could hear another voice with him and it sounded familiar, though he couldn't make any words out. The curtain drew back, first revealing the doctor, then standing beside him... was Fox. Fox McCloud. In an island shirt, cargo shorts, ... and loafers?

Fox gave a lopsided grin to Wolf. "How's my favorite rival doing?"

Wolf squinted at him, as if not fully believing that he was right there. "Fox, what are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you! Uh doc, you mind if we have a few minutes alone?"

"No problem." The doctor replied as he turned and left the room.

"So, the doctor tell you what happened?"

"Sort of. Told me I hit a car riding my gravbike and I landed pretty badly."

"Yeah, that's what they say." Fox said as he leaned in and stroked his cheek.

Wolf jerked back angrily. "Woah, woah! What the fuck are you doing?!!"

"They sure healed that up pretty good."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Fox looked at him, slightly confused and concerned. "You had quite the scratch there when we found you. Do... you remember that?"

"Remember?"

"Wolf, do you remember being up in that station at all?"

Wolf looked at him in confusion. "Hold on! I thought I got hurt in a car accident?!"

Fox shook his head. "That's a cover story. Corneria wants nothing to do with anything about Venom at the moment."

Wolf started trembling. "So, I-I... that wasn't just some nightmare I had?"

Fox smiled sadly. "I'm afraid not." He whispered. "What do you remember exactly?" He asked

Wolf gritted his teeth, willing his body to stop shaking. "I can only remember bits and pieces. I can remember a couple of faces as they died, like pain and relief in one. Blood, so much blood. Why did I..."

"Take your time. You don't have to say any more."

The shaking returned. "What the fuck did I do?!" He held his head in his hands." What did I do? Why?" He looked up at Fox.

"... A tracker and emotion modulator were found in your side and head respectively and it's most likely the modulator that caused you to act the way you did. You know, even through all that, you didn't hurt anyone else. Even when Peppy stuck that massive needle in your neck, you didn't dare touch him. That's self control... I'm definitely gonna have nightmares about what we saw up there though." He chuckled nervously. "That whole thing was just fucked up."

"Good, but still..."

"It's best if you don't remember the whole thing anyway, Wolf."

That sentence reminded Wolf of James and tears welled up. "He fucked me around Fox!"

"I know! I know. I saw the..." Fox coughed. "I saw it."

"Used my best memories against me! He... He..." Wolf started sobbing.

Fox hugged him. "And he's dead, for good this time. You made sure of it."

"Station?" He asked, voice muffled by Fox's shirt.

"Tossed into the nearest star."

"Thank fucking God." He cry-laughed.

After a few minutes, Fox stepped back. "I better get going, you're friends are gonna be here soon, and I don't feel like sticking around. But when you get outta here, you'll be staying at my place until you get back on your feet."

"Fox-"

Fox looked Wolf dead in the eye. "I won't take 'no' for an answer. See you!" He said, turning around and waving as he left the room.

A sea of emotion continued to stir about in Wolf's consciousness, trying to process the whole interaction with Fox. It was amazing how much Fox could be like his father sometimes and this just felt like that. Maybe he could close this ugly chapter once and for all and start anew.

As much as the thought sickened him, Ripley was right about one thing: There was something between Fox and himself and it made him as happy inside as it made him nauseous. 

Maybe he should stop thinking about it before he threw up.

But, Wolf was relieved.

It was done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it guys! Thanks for being along for the ride! Even if that ride was rough and didn't make much sense, it was still fun to write.
> 
> You know, I wrote this thing without an outline and I had no idea where it was gonna go. So if you're dissatisfied with the direction that was taken, I'm sorry.
> 
> Also, this is all first draft stuff, so I'm sorry about that too, I just get excited about responses, that's all.
> 
> I probably won't be writing fan fiction for a while as I have a whole lot of other projects I have on the go and this was taking up all my attention. So, yeah.
> 
> PS. Littletusk1, you're free to write a sequel, or not, it's up to you. Hell, anyone can.
> 
> Thanks everyone! It's been great!


End file.
